First Glance at Monday's Advance

Read these stories and more in today's Staten Island Advance
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4 homes damages in wind-driven brushfire

Chad Rachman/Staten Island AdvanceFirefighters work on the rooftop of a brushfire-ravaged house in Ocean Breeze, one of four damaged in the Easter Sunday wildfire. Heat from the blaze melted the plastic siding on a nearby house.

Watching from Hylan Boulevard as the dark smoke billowed skyward, 19-year-old Jasmine Casciani thought "Oh my God, someone's house is on fire." She was right. It was her house. A large brushfire, fanned by stiff Easter Sunday winds, sweeps across a swath of Ocean Breeze. (Map) Before the four-alarm blaze is brought under control, four houses, two cars and other property are damaged. Flames from the early-afternoon blaze are said to have reached heights of 70 feet. Smoke from the fire could be seen from the New Jersey Turnpike.-Michelle Maskaly

As cameras roll, Islanders show up for sex with children
Two Staten Islanders show up at a house on the Jersey shore, thinking they'll soon be having sex with young children. Instead the would-be sex offenders, Zigfield Rivera, 21, of Cary Avenue in West Brighton and Anthony Palumbo, 46, of Shotwell Avenue in Annadale, are greeted by police and a television camera crew.-John Annese

Hotel surprise for Homeport task force
Members of the task force spent years preparing a plan to turn the former Navy homeport in Stapleton into a waterfront community of homes, businesses and public attractions. They are surprised (shocked is not too strong a word) to learn the city has reconfigured their carefully drawn plan to include a 150-room luxury hotel - something the city is trying to say was in the plan all along.-Karen O'Shea

Transfer of towing permit triggers feud
Whenever a city permit for towing rights changes hands, lawsuits and anger oftentimes follow. That's the case now. Staten Island Towing lost its permit for towing on the borough's highways to Knights Collision Experts of Brooklyn. Owners of the Island towing company claim the Brooklyn outfit has a shady past. But Staten Island Towing's record is not unblemished either. At stake in the dispute: $1.5 million and possibly the fate of the companies involved.-John Annese

A symbolic vote, but consequences may be real
The "youth vote" is the Loch Ness monster of politics - a force to be reckoned with ... if it exists. The monster could rear its head next year when MySpace.com, the hugely popular social networking Web site, stages a virtual - and symbolic - presidential primary.-Rob Hart

Also in today's Advance...
-10 Americans die in weekend attacks in Iraq
-Iraqi cleric says attacks must focus on Americans
-Pope's Easter message: Nothing positive is happening in Iraq
-Ex-House Speaker Gingrich says Gonzales should go
-Ruckus in Britain as freed sailors sell their stories
-Catalog of life: 1 million species and counting

Cold, yes ... and big!
Our temperature could only manage a high of 41 yesterday, 17 degrees below the norm, and snow flurries were seen on occasion. But don't think the New York metro area was singled out for this rude meteorological gesture. We have a picture of the monster. This is one impressive cold spell. But you want to know when it will end. Go Under the Weather with Todd Hill.

Lampooning Big Bill
That wasn't Dick Cheney in an episode of "South Park" this week; it was booming, vociferous Bill Donohue of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights. Arresting Jesus, no less, and making a play for power at the Vatican. What? Go Beyond Beliefs, with Leslie Palma-Simoncek.

Search the past
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Keeping up with the flats and trots
These are busy times in horse racing. So today we bring you some quick reviews of current events in both the thoroughbred and standardbred sports. Go Trackside with Bob Raimonto.

Every Staten Island sports score, every day
Need to know who won? Just visit Island Scoreboard on SILive - the Advance's home on the Internet - for the latest Staten Island sports scores. We'll update the scoreboard as soon as the results of the game are reported.

Steady now. Everybody stay calm...
One week into the baseball season, here are some thoughts on the Yankees, who hit the road after today's uninspiring 6-4 loss to the Baltimore Orioles. First: Don't panic. Dean Balsamini explains the vagaries of Pinstripe Power.

Let's hear it for the 'normal guy'!
Five years ago it was reasonably hot shooting, hot wings and a cardboard check from a Hooters girl in hot pants. "It just won't get any better than this," effused Zach Johnson. It's arguable he was wrong. Yesterday Johnson, the self-proclaimed "normal guy," donned the green jacket as the new Masters champion. -Kevin Manahan

What happened out there?
HE STEPPED UP: Shawn Green. Met Nation - me included - was calling for his job this spring, but since Opening Night, he's hit the ball hard and in big spots. He went 3-for-5 yesterday and smacked a frozen rope right to first base in the 9th that could have tied the game.
HE MESSED UP: Shawn Green. That sacrifice fly he dropped in the sixth led to two additional runs. We lost by two runs. Nuff said. Eddie D'Anna knows Ya Gotta Believe.

Felt good, didn't it?
Worked in the office Easter night, and was both surprised and delighted that Islanders took the holiday seriously and refrained from sneaking in a travel basketball tournament, 7-year-old baseball game or even a local road race. Kevin Flood marvels at the fortitude of Island fans. Sports Spotlight.